Destined for Greatness
by OneshotPrincess
Summary: She was just like the demon-brat, alone and abandoned and dropped in the poor Third's care. But wether you were Neji or not, one thing was certain. The Sannins' daughter is destined for greatness-and trouble!
1. Prolouge

A/N: This is basically my first story (if you don't count the one my brother wrote, labeled incorrectly, and published under my name). This basically follows the manga/anime with inclusion of one character, Jiraiya and Tsunade's daughter. She is the main character of the story as opposed to Naruto but he will still have his moments

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_A woman with short, dark hair appeared on the doorsteps of the orphanage. She had a bundle wrapped in her arms. She gently placed the bundle on the ground. Inside was a baby girl. She was sound asleep._

"_Sorry kiddo," the woman whispered. "I don't want to leave you but your mother needs me more."_

_The baby fidgeted slightly. The woman sighed and moved to walk away before hesitating. She hurriedly took out a scroll from her backpack and scribbled a name on it. Then she placed it along with her overlarge scarf on the baby's bundle._

_Then she walked of thinking to herself. The name was ironic certainly, seeing as both her parents had left the village. Though neither had betrayed Konoha._

_She sighed and increased her pace…_

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_Shizune opened the door to the apartment. She was greeted by the sight of a blonde woman lounging in the couch. There were bottles of sake crowded around her._

_This was not unusual. In fact it was very was unusual was that Tsunade had not yet passed out from the amount of alcohol she consumed. In fact, when she sat up and looked at Shizune, her eyes were quite sober._

"_Did you do it?" she asked._

"_Yes," Shizune answered, her throat feeling tight. Tsunade nodded slowly and turned back to her cup of sake._


	2. Meet Mariko!

**A/N: **Enjoy! Mariko means 'True Village Child.'

**Disclaimer:** I own only Mariko. All the other characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Memory-_ 'Mariko'_

Speech- "Mariko"

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'_Mariko and Naruto were sitting down on the railing of the Hokage Tower rooftop. The Third Hokage was leaning on it beside them._

"_Those are all the old Hokages, aren't they old man?" Mariko asked, peering at the Hokage Mountain through the sunlight. The Third smiled at them both before answering._

"_Yes, they are," he replied. "Each one of these men was a great shinobi. They all fought to protect what they believed in and they all fought to protect this village. They were heroes and they are our nation's pride."_

_Mariko looked up in awe. They all fought for what they believed in…Mariko decided then and there that that was what she was going to do too. She would fight to prove what she believed in._

"_My face will be up there too, one day! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. His loud proclamation made Mariko burst out in giggles. The Third chuckled lightly as well._

"_What's so funny?" Naruto said in an accusatory tone. Mariko wasn't going to make fun of him too, was she?_

_Mariko shook her head. "Nothing," she said grinning all the same. "If you wanna be Hokage, I'll help you get there."_

_And right now, she believed that Naruto would make a great Hokage._

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Mariko groaned out loud and opened her eyes. She glanced up at her bruised and battered clock and then sighed. She got out of bed and picked up the poor abused clock. Irreparable. Oh well, she thought. It had happened so often, Iruka-sensei probably wouldn't mind buying her another one. If he did… Well she could do without that ringing annoyance anyway.

She walked to bathroom and brushed her teeth before stepping into the showers. She turned on the water-

"AAAAHHHHHH!" The residents of the street below jumped and looked around; expecting some sort of an attack.

"Son of a-" she muttered as she struggled to turn off the water and wrap a towel around herself. That damned landlord! She couldn't believe it! The water was freezing cold!

She knew it was because of Naruto, she just knew it. What the hell was wrong with those people? Naruto was just an ordinary boy yet they treated him as though he was some sort disease. No, Mariko shook her head. Not a disease. A demon. They treated him like he was a demon, and Mariko was supposedly the 'demon-sitter.'

Mariko stumbled back into her room to find her clothes. Her daily wear consisted of standard shinobi pants and sandals and a lime green v-neck shirt with short sleeves. She brushed her white blond hair and pulled on her gloves as a finishing touch, and then walked down the hallway to the only other bedroom in the small apartment.

"Naruto," she knocked on his door. "Come on, we'll be late for the academy. Do you wanna get scolded, again?"

There was no answer again. Mariko rubbed her temples. She tried to push open the door. It wasn't locked but there was something blocking it. She tried again, this time with more force, finally succeeding in opening the door enough to go inside.

She gingerly stepped inside. Instantly she realized what was blocking the door. A month's worth of dirty laundry was piled up against the door. The sheer amount of range was eye blinding. However Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Mariko walked to the window and hoped he hadn't done what she thought he did.

He had. All four of the Hokage faces were covered in various painted designs, none of them good. Naruto was so going to get it from Iruka-sensei and the old man.

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Mariko got to the classroom and sat down at her seat. Naruto was such an idiot! How could he something like this! Did he want to get in trouble? There was no way Mariko could get him out of trouble this time.

"Well, if it isn't Ugly," someone sneered. Mariko looked up. Oh great, she thought. It's the Sasuke fan club leader, Ms What's-Her-Name. She and a bunch of her followers were standing in front of Mariko. Behind her Sakura and Ino stopped their bickering to see what would happen.

"How very imaginative of you," Mariko replied sarcastically. Really, Ugly? That was the best they could come up with?

"Hey, where's your boyfriend? Did he leave you? Even dobe's got that much sense. Or is he out pulling pranks again?" Ms What's-Her-Name guffawed and her gang followed eagerly.

Mariko rolled her eyes. Seriously! Imagination much? That wasn't even funny. So much for being popular.

"At least Naruto has the appropriate vocabulary for his age, unlike Sasuke," Mariko replied.

"How dare you!" Ms What's-Her-Name looked scandalized. "Sasuke-kun has way more vocabulary, skills and looks than Naruto!" A dreamy expression came into her face. "Have you seen his gorgeous eyes?" she squealed and all the fan girls twittered.

Mariko felt like puking. "Then tell me, when was the last time you heard him say anything besides 'hn'?"

All the remained quiet, struggling to find one time they talked to Sasuke and He hadn't responded with 'hn'. Mariko knew that the battle was won. She leaned back in her chair and said, "I rest my case."

Behind the girls Sakura looked scandalized while Ino seemed to be smiling slightly. Behind Mariko, some of the boys laughed and hooted. Mariko heard Kiba shout out, "Nice one!"

Just then the door opened and in walked Iruka-sensei, Naruto following behind. There seemed to be a tissue stuffed up Iruka-sensei's nose. Mariko grinned and wondered whether or not Naruto had used that jutsu on him.

"But, Mariko made me do it," Naruto whined loudly. Mariko froze and so did Iruka-sensei.

"All right then. You can both clean the Mountain," Iruka-sensei stated.

"But-but-," Mariko stuttered. She shot Naruto a death glare. She couldn't believe it! It was a stupid dare! Naruto wasn't supposed to have taken it seriously!

Naruto grinned cheekily at her as he took his seat. Just you wait, she thought. I'm not gonna be the one to buy you ramen anymore.

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**A/N: **What do you think? I don't really know if Naruto is the kind of person who will drag someone else down with his own fault but then I thought that Naruto would want Mariko's company since she is like his family besides Iruka. Please review!


	3. Best Deal with it Knonha!

**A/N: **Thanks to all of you who reviewed. They made my day! So here's the next chapter. Enjoy! This is from the first person POV, Mariko's.

Disclaimer: I don't own the series.

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"I can't believe this! How did I get dragged into this?" I grumbled, making sure that Iruka-sensei heard. This was completely unfair. It's not my fault that Naruto's insane and takes things too far! What kind of paint did Naruto use anyway? It was nearly impossible to get off right now!

"Quit your grumbling," Iruka-sensei said. "I'm not going to let you go until you get all of the paint off."

"Big deal," Naruto replied, scrubbing diligently away at the Fourth Hokage's face. "It's not like there's anyone waiting for us at home anyway."

I looked up at Naruto. Most people wouldn't see it, but I knew Naruto well enough to detect the traces of sadness in his voice. I can't deny it. I've got no parents and it hurts but I've long since gotten used to this life. I'm an orphan, one that dared to mix with the likes of an outcast like Naruto and I've long accepted the way people treat me. As far as I'm concerned Naruto and Iruka-sensei are the only family I need. But it looks like I'm gonna have to do something to cheer Naruto up back at home.

"Come on Naruto. If you finish on time, I'll treat you to some ramen. How about it?" Iruka-sensei said. "It'll help for the exam tomorrow!"

"All right, Iruka-sensei is the best! I'll definitely finish on time! Believe it!"

I looked at Iruka-sensei and catching his smile, I grinned in return. Well, maybe Iruka-sensei would do the cheering up for me. I started scrubbing too as I watched Naruto work twice as hard. Right now, I'm going to enjoy some ramen.

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I watched Naruto inhale more than half the ramen at once and promptly hit him on the head. I watched in satisfaction as Naruto whimpered, rubbing the sore spot on his head. Lecture time. Here goes nothing.

"Baka Naruto! If you eat that fast, you're going to be sorry later!" I threatened as Naruto squintyfied his eyes.

"But I always eat like this," he complained. I snorted.

"Fat load of good that did to you," I retorted, eyeing his small stature.. No wonder Naruto was so small. Not that he would ever admit it. He would probably try to pound me if I ever brought it up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the squinty-eyed ramen lover asked. His tone was accusatory as though he suspected that I was making fun of him. Which, admittedly, I kinda sorta was.

"Naruto," I sighed, putting down my chopsticks. "Names like stomachache and indigestion are given to all kinds of abdominal discomfort and pains. These pains are often caused by trapped gas released during digestion. Sometimes these pains are signs of ulcers and infections. Eating fast without chewing can cause these problems. Plus the food is often too solid to be digested properly and it comes out as waste." I felt a weird temptation to say poop instead of waste. But I knew that if I did Naruto would probably laugh at it and the rest of lecture would be lost.

"So the nutrients are lost. It doesn't help that you only eat junk food so there's little nutrients to process in the first place. That's why you shouldn't eat fast," I finished.

Naruto stared at me. I sighed and shook my hair out of my eyes. I resisted the strong urge to roll my eyes again. Typical Naruto.

"You didn't understand a word, did you?" I asked. Slowly Naruto shook his head. This time I really did roll my eyes. Go figure.

"Let me explain this once more: Eating fast make stomach go boom!" I said. I grinned at Naruto. My tone was condescending. Like I was explaining something painfully obvious to a toddler. Which I kind of was.

Well, at least Naruto was smart enough to recognize when someone patronizing him judging from his glare. He didn't say anything since his mouth was full of ramen again. Good thing too. I'm not too sure if I could resist giving Naruto a lecture on choking hazards. Not to mention table manners.

I picked up my chopsticks and spooned a mouthful of ramen and swallowed. That's when I noticed Iruka-sensei staring at me. He looked like he was deep in thought. I frowned and wiped my mouth.

"Is something wrong, Iruka-sensei?" I asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious. After all, it wasn't everyday people looked at me like that. They barely looked at me at all and usually just glared at Naruto.

"No," he shook his head. "I was just wondering where you learned all that information on the human body."

"Oh," I said, shrugging. "I bought some books on medicines and stuff so that I could treat Naruto when he got bruised. I sort of got hooked on them and started reading more."

"Interesting," Iruka-sensei said. He seemed to be smiling. Like he was seeing something totally obvious. I really didn't like that look. It made me feel like I was stupid or something. Years of being called leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Of course it doesn't really taste_ that_ bitter when I'm saying it. "Have you ever considered becoming a medical ninja?"

"A med-nin?" I frowned, trying to think it through. "I never really thought about it. It doesn't seem like a bad idea." Iruka-sensei smiled.

A med-nin huh? I read about them and there was a lecture on them once at the Academy. From what I know it's an incredibly tough job. The med-nin all had to have perfect chakra control. The amount of healing chakra they put into a patient could save them or end up killing them. This was one of the reasons the trainees were only allowed to practice healing on dead bodies.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto half-yelled. He was obviously following his own chain of thoughts. I shook out my thoughts and turned to look at him. I'd about the med-nin thing later.

"Can I borrow your forehead protector?" he asked grinning. I wondered what he was going to do with it. Nothing good, that's for sure.

"This?" Iruka-sensei asked touching his forehead protector. Naruto nodded eagerly.

"Sorry, Naruto," Iruka-sensei replied smiling. "This is a sign that you're a shinobi of this village. That you've graduated and grown up. This isn't something you can give; you have to earn it with your own strength! Tomorrow's the exam so then it's your turn to prove your worth and earn this protector."

Naruto deflated a bit but soon grinned again. I looked at him in wonder. That boy changed emotions as fast as lightning.

"Then I'll definitely pass the exam. Believe it," Naruto proclaimed, punching the air above. I sighed exasperatedly while Iruka-sensei smiled in encouragement.

I hope he doesn't fail again.

Iruka POV

I watched as Mariko repeated what seemed like an entire page worth of information on the human body's digestive system. I think stared at her for some time. The information seemed memorized from text as well.

"Something wrong Iruka-sensei?" Mariko asked. I realized that I was still staring.

"No," I shook my head. "I was just wondering where you learned all that information on the human body."

"Oh," Mariko replied. "I bought some books on medicines and stuff so that I could treat Naruto when he got bruised. I sort of got hooked on them and started reading more."

"Interesting," I said. So she took after her mother more than her father in her interests. I already knew that. While her score in genjutsu and ninjutsu were modest, she was the best in her class at taijutsu. Though she looked more like her father with her short white hair and tan skin. Her hair was slightly tinged with yellow. Her eyes however were bright blue, just like Naruto's. "Have you ever considered becoming a medical ninja?"

"A med-nin?" I watched as Mariko's face turned thoughtful. "I never really thought about it. It doesn't seem like a bad idea."

I smiled. I was certain that if Mariko did choose to become a medical ninja, she could become better than her mother. Mariko could excel in whatever she put her mind to but she would never do what she didn't want to. Speaking of which…

I was broken out of her chain of thought by Naruto's sudden plea. I smiled but shot down his hopes. Instead I told him to earn his own protector at the exam. I sincerely hoped that he passed and by the look on her face, Mariko seemed to be thinking the same thing.

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I walked Mariko and Naruto to their home. Naruto was shouting 'Believe it' at random intervals while Mariko was humming an odd song I didn't quite recognize. It seemed like a lullaby. Iruka was pondering how best to corner Mariko.

When they reached the apartment, Naruto rushed straight in babbling something about getting his 'beauty sleep' for tomorrow's exam. Mariko tried to follow but I stopped her.

"I need to talk to you about something, Mariko," I said. Mariko raised an eyebrow, urging me to go on. I took in a deep breath. "Remember how the orphans always called to the exam room last since they have no surname to go by?"

Mariko nodded slowly. "Well we've changed the rules; the orphans are going to go the exam room first."

I watched the disbelief and outrage color Mariko's face. She opened her mouth to say something but I cut her off.

"You've failed three times on purpose for Naruto already. You can't keep stunting your own growth for Naruto's sake. If he does pass, the two of you could even be put on the same team."

Mariko glared. "What if he doesn't pass?" she asked.

"Well, what if he does?"

Mariko couldn't answer. To say something now would just be admitting that she didn't have faith in Naruto. I had cornered her well.

I was determined not to let Mariko fail again. She was one of the brightest students in class. She had the highest marks in taijutsu and teamwork. In fact, she had good marks all year round. It was just at the final exams that she performed too terrible to watch. It made the rest of the marks worthless. There was no way I can watch her fail herself over and over again.

"Get some sleep, alright?" I said and ruffled her hair. She was still glaring.

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Mariko POV

I eyed the forehead protector with scrutiny and held it gingerly in my fingers. It was a simple blue band with the Konoha symbol on it but I treated it as something both precious and dangerous.

"Oi, it's not going to explode you know!" a girl behind me called. Most likely Ms What's-Her-Name. I ignored her completely. Instead I brushed my hair out of my forehead and managed to tie the protector around it with one hand. Then I examined my reflection on a small mirror that I stole from Ms What's-Her-Name earlier that day. The protector was slightly lopsided but I decided that I liked it that way.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Naruto looking at her protector with jealousy in his eyes. I didn't like the look and shifted in discomfort. I watched as more Academy students I know nothing about left the room to take the exam. They all come back to the waiting room eventually. Either to show off their protector or to seek comfort from their friends. I didn't want to comfort Naruto today. I wanted him to pass.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Iruka-sensei came out of the room and called out-

"Uzumaki, Naruto"

I watched Naruto stumble through the room. I flashed him a grin and mouthed good luck. He returned the grin hesitantly. He was wracked with nerves, I could tell. I prayed with all my heart that he passed because if he did fail this time, I wouldn't be around to help him out at the Academy anymore.

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I roamed around the streets searching for the familiar orange suit but I couldn't find it anywhere. I knew Naruto had failed again but I didn't hear it from Naruto. I heard it from Mizuki-sensei. In fact, Naruto seemed to have completely disappeared since the exam.

Something like this had never happened before. I wasn't sure if it was because I had passed. It probably was.

I kept touching my forehead protector. After so much time spent seeing other students get their protectors, it seemed like a dream come true. But I guess every dream's gotta come with a price…

I heaved a sigh. I checked all the usual places; our apartment, the Hokage Mountain, Ichiraku Ramen and even the Academy. He wasn't in any of those places. It was already dark. I growled in frustration. If it wasn't for that damned Iruka-sensei-!

Wait! That was it!

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"Iruka-sensei!"

I burst into Iruka-sensei's apartment. Inside, Iruka-sensei seemed to be getting ready to go out somewhere. Before he could say anything, I spilled everything in a rush.

"Have you seen Naruto? Because I haven't seen Naruto since the exam! I mean, do you know where he is? I've searched everywhere and I mean literally everywhere! And he isn't-"

"Mariko!" Iruka-sensei said looking thoroughly constipated.

"What?"

"Breathe!"

I hurriedly sucked in a lot of air through her mouth and let it all out through my nose.

"Again"

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Again"

I repeated the process.

"Again"

I did it again.

"Agai-"

"Cut it out already!" I snapped. How many times does a person have to_ breathe_ to be deemed sane? Maybe it was Iruka-sensei who was losing it.

"So do you know where Naruto is?"

Iruka-sensei raised his eyebrows. Right now, he not only looked constipated, he looked as though it was taking all his strength not to rush into the bathroom right at this instant. I pressed my lips tightly together. It wouldn't do to laugh at him right now. Not after I spent all my breath being worried.

"You mean you haven't heard?" His tone was incredulous. I didn't like it.

"Heard what?"

Iruka-sensei hesitated before shaking his head. I narrowed my eyes.

"Nothing," he replied. "It's nothing."

"Really? It sure as hell seemed like something to me!" I retorted. Frankly, I was feeling thoroughly pissed off. And why wouldn't I? This was the first time someone knew something about Naruto that I didn't. And that someone was insistently keeping that something from me. I've been taking care of that colorblind baby for six years. Was it too much to ask that I know what was going on? Certainly not!

I waited. Iruka-sensei frowned. I glared. Iruka-sensei sighed. Finally he spoke:

"Naruto… He got into some trouble…"

"What kind of trouble?" I asked, none too kindly.

"He...He made some of the village elders mad," he replied, uncomfortably.

"How?" I asked. I was desperate to know more and I didn't appreciate having to drag it out of him bit by bit.

Iruka-sensei shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it," he said walking towards the window. "Lock the window for me Mariko."

"Hey wait-"

But he was already gone. I cursed him, not bothering to keep it quiet. It was all his fault! Everything was his fault! If he hadn't gone and screwed up the rules, me and Naruto would probably be at Ichiraku ramen right now.

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Normal POV

On the Street below Iruka's apartment:

"That damned sensei! Just you wait till I get my (censored) hands on your (censored) (censored)! I'll make you (censored) (censored) born (censored) (censored)! I'll (censored) kill you! (Censored)"

Kotetsu let out a low whistle. He addressed his partner and said, "Wow, I just learned three new words I didn't know existed in the swearing vocabulary."

Izumo nodded. "That Iruka's got some pretty screwed up students, that's for sure."

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Mariko POV

I stood up on the roof of the apartment, leaning against the railing with an egg in my hand. I'd brought it because I thought it would be pretty funny if I dropped it on some poor passerby's head but after I came up here, I just wasn't in the mood.

That Naruto was such an idiot. It didn't take me long to figure out how he had pissed off the elders. It was the newest gossip in the streets. How the demon brat had stolen the forbidden jutsu scroll.

I sighed. Iruka-sensei was probably trying to find him. I wondered why Naruto would steal a scroll. I was sure it wasn't for personal gain. Was it?

I heard something creak behind and turned around in a flash. And there, right there, in that doorway was Naruto and Iruka-sensei. They both looked pretty bashed up and bruised and they were bandaged in some places. Iruka-sensei looked worse than Naruto.

I ran up to him and relief quickly turned to anger. I saw Naruto smile weakly and I bashed his head in then and there.

"Baka Naruto! Exactly what made you think that stealing that scroll would be a good idea? Are you daft or something? Do you posses any brain power at all?" I basically screeched.

"Mariko calm down," Iruka-sensei sweat-dropped. "It wasn't Naruto's fault. He was sort of tricked into it. I'll tell you more on that later. First things first, Naruto has something to tell you."

I was surprised. I turned around to look at Naruto, who was still sitting on the floor. He slowly picked himself up, but he didn't look at me. Instead he addressed the floor.

"Mariko, do you remember about the Kyuubi attack?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, remember how they say that the Yondaime Hokage gave his life to seal the Kyuubi?"

I nodded again. I wasn't sure where this was leading to.

"Well, he sealed inside me."

I blinked once, twice and took a step backwards. "You…?"

"I'm the container of the Kyuubi," he continued.

I took another step backwards. My head was swimming and time seemed to have stopped. So that's why the village people hate him so much. The Kyuubi! The freakin' Kyuubi! The Kyuubi was a monster. It had destroyed so many lives meaninglessly. And it had killed off the Yondaime. It was a monster; there wasn't a doubt in my mind about mind about that. But Naruto was… What was Naruto?

Naruto spoke again, "I'll understand if you want to move out…" His voice broke.

"The old man can probably arrange it."

I looked up at him. This time he wasn't looking at the floor. He was looking at me. His face was anguished, near tears. That look was heart-breaking and I never wanted to see it on his face again. And it was at that instant I knew what Naruto was.

"What the crap are you talking about, baka?" I scolded him playfully. "If I move out, who's gonna take care of you?"

Naruto's head snapped up. "You mean…?"

"Naruto," I said gently. "As far as I'm concerned, you're a hero! You basically saved this goddamn village!"

And just like that I was tackled by Naruto in a monster hug. I felt something wet land on my shoulder, and I knew that Naruto was crying. I saw Iruka-sensei smile, obviously relieved.

"Come on," I said, breaking the hug. "I know something that will cheer you up." I held up the egg. Naruto grinned and grabbed it.

"Mariko-chan is the best!"

I watched him trying to pick the best victim and grinned along with Iruka-sensei.

Naruto was a lot of things. He was a deadlast, he was stupid, he was oblivious, he was a lover of unhealthy ramen, he was hyperactive and a great number of other things too tiring to mention. But a monster? Naruto? Nah.

I knew the villagers were probably scared of Naruto and most of the mothers didn't approve that the Shodaime making a poor orphan girl take care of the demon brat. But the said demon brat was one more important thing. He was family, to me at least. And the village best deal with it.

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**A/N:** Like it? Hate it? Leave a review! I was going to make it third person POV, but changed my mind. Sorry if the English is bad. It's my second language. :P

I also just couldn't work Mariko into that fight scene. But the action will come soon. Promise!


	4. Konoha's Team 7

**A/N: **So here's Chapter 4. Guys I need more reviews! I cannot believe the amount of people that favorited my work and added me and it to story alert! I mean I get it you like my work but it would be nice to now why you like it. Okay? Okay.

To Nanlit and anyone else who might want to know: Mariko is actually about 10 months younger than Naruto. She was conceived about a month after the Kyuubi attack.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Naruto series.

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Mariko POV

"As you know I will be announcing the gennin squads," Iruka-sensei started. "The teams are generally of three with a jonnin sensei. However since an odd number of students passed this year, there will be four students in one of the teams."

I glanced at Naruto. He wasn't supposed to have passed. That's why there was an odd number of gennins. Naruto didn't look back at me. He was too bent on listening to Iruka-sensei. This was a first. I grinned a bit and, leaning back in my chair, I started to hum. I really wouldn't need to strain too much to catch Naruto's or my name being spoken aloud.

"Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki…"

I sat up straight in my chair and looked at Iruka-sensei. He wasn't looking at any of us. Instead, he was looking at the piece of paper in his hands and grinning like… well, like Naruto when the prospect of ramen comes up.

"..., Sasuke Uchiha…"

I groaned aloud. 5 seconds. That's how long it will take Naruto to process this information and react.

5

4

3

2

1

"HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!"

There you have it. I sighed. Really, there was only so much I can do. After all, I'm a kid too.

"Why do I have to be in the same team as him? A first-class ninja like me can't be expected to lug around with guys like him!"

"I agree."

Naruto blinked. He probably didn't except the Emo-bastard to agree. Neither did I but I was pretty he wasn't admitting that Naruto was a 'first-class' ninja. Even I wouldn't say that.

"There is absolutely no need for me to be in the same team as this loser," said bastard barely even spared Naruto a glance.

Ah, so that was it. According to him, Naruto wasn't good enough to be on his team. But the bastard had more to say.

"In fact I don't there is any need for me to be in a team at all. I'll be good enough on my own without any of these utter morons with me."

Oh Kami, he's like those incredibly spoiled rich kids that come around during village festivals. Even talked like them too. Which wasn't surprising once you thought about it. Naruto was as red as a tomato and his eyes had gotten all squinty. He wasn't just angry, he was pissed. I still wasn't sure about what to do; whether I should intervene or not.

"Naruto, Sasuke both of you calm down! I will explain why you were put in this team _after_ I finish calling out the team," Iruka-sensei said, rubbing his forehead with one hand. He felt irritated but somehow, I felt that I could still detect a hint of amusement in his voice. Or maybe I was just imagining it.

"Sakura Haruno-"

A squeal ripped through the air. Everyone and I mean _everyone_, covered their ears. Sakura had her hands clutched towards her chest and she was jumping up and down on her seat. She opened her mouth and another ear-shattering scream filled the air.

Damn girl had some lungs! Score for you Sakura! Step one to capturing your crush's heart: Shatter his eardrums.

Sasuke had his fingers stuffed into his ears. Poor guy. Can't say I blame him. After all Sakura was sitting beside him. She'd won it from Ino.

Then I felt a chill run down my back. I shivered. Everyone else in the back seat seemed to notice it too. They, of course, didn't realize what it was. After years of pissing people off, Naruto and I knew exactly what it was. The wrath…of the FAN GIRLS! Sakura better run for her life. Naruto was already subconsciously covering his head for any incoming blows. The amount of killing intent was well… killer…

Sakura finally calmed down, sitting back down at the chair. She looked ready to burst. Sasuke slowly inched away from her to the farthest corner of his seat. My fingers were at the ready. There was no telling when she would burst again.

Sakura seemed oblivious to the amount of killing intent and glares pouring forth in her direction. Mostly it was from Ino and Ms. What's-Her-Name. I shivered.

Well, that was it. Unless by some miracle _this _was the team with four members, there was no way I could help Naruto anymore. I slumped back in my seat, defeated…

"…and finally, Mariko…"

I shot out of my seat and looked up at Iruka-sensei. He was smiling at me serenely. He nodded at me. I sighed in relief and grinned. I looked towards Naruto but he didn't look at me. He was fuming at the back of the Emo's head.

"Now to answer your questions, Naruto and Sasuke," Iruka-sensei said. He shuffled some of the papers in his hands. "The teams are chosen according to each gennin's strength. Naruto was deadlast in everything except teamwork while Sasuke got the highest marks in genjutsu, ninjutsu and weaponry but failed the teamwork tests. Similarly, Sakura got the highest marks in the written tests and chakra control…"

I saw Sakura smile proudly but it soon faltered at what Iruka-sensei said next.

"But Sakura got the least marks in the practical tests. Mariko got average in everything but she excelled in taijutsu and teamwork. Sasuke balances Naruto's flaws in logical thinking while Sakura balances his poor chakra control. Similarly Mariko balances Sakura's poor taijutsu and Naruto and Mariko both balance Sasuke's lack of teamwork. Any questions?"

I saw Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all open their mouths but Iruka-sensei cut them off.

"No questions? Excellent. I'm glad we understand each other."

I sighed. Right now, Naruto and Sasuke were having a glaring match, with Naruto alternating between glaring at Sasuke and making lovey eyes at Sakura. Sakura was gazing transfixed at Sasuke. There was a bit of drool running down her chin.

"So?" I asked Iruka-sensei.

"So…?"

"I thought you would introduce us to our new sensei. So far, I see no sensei," I replied.

"Well, about that…" he began very sheepishly and awkwardly. "You see, he's not here yet. You're just going to have to wait…"

"What'd you mean, he's not here yet?" Naruto screeched. His eyes were going all squinty again. He was probably thinking this as a dent in his training.

"When's he gonna get here?" I asked.

"Oh, it will be a while, you can be sure of that," he replied, smiling feebly at Naruto's potent glare. Naruto was reminding me of a fan girl.

I leaned back in my chair for the last time. No point in doing anything until our sensei got here. The next teams were Hinata, Shino and Kiba under a jonnin named Kurenai and Ino, Shikamaru and Choji under one named Asuma. I didn't pay any particular attention to the rest because I wasn't interested in them but I did notice that all of their senseis came immediately and picked them up. Only ours was late.

Pretty soon, everyone was gone. Only the four of us were left. I picked myself up and worked my way towards the front row, where Sasuke and Sakura were seated. I could feel Naruto's eyes on me but I didn't pay any attention. I reached their seats and saw Sakura narrow her eyes at me. Sasuke was still looking at his folded hands.

I bit my lips. One thing I knew: you never piss off an angry fan girl. I instead made my way down to their table and sat down on it. And then Sakura screeched.

"Damn it, girl! You gotta learn to control that voice of yours! You gonna put someone out of commission with that thing!"

Sakura completely ignored me. She had a tick mark growing on her forehead. Instead she said, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm sitting down. What's it look like I'm doing, Pinky? Besides, you better get used to this. After all, we're in the same team."

She opened her mouth to retort but she was cut off before she could say anything.

"Shut up, Sakura"

I blinked. So did she. Of all the people in the world, I never expected _Sasuke Uchiha_ to defend me. I glanced back at him. For some strange reason, he was looking at the floor very deliberately. I shrugged and picked up my bag. I took out a book on medical ninjutsu. I bought it after Iruka-sensei's suggestion. I could hear Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto arguing about something but I blocked out their banter and focused on memorizing the chakra points.

(3 hours later)

I heard someone clear their throat loudly. I blinked up from my book and saw the most eccentric sight. A man, wearing a mask that covered his face, was standing half-way inside the classroom. His hitai-ate covered his left eye and he was wearing the standard jonnin uniform. He had a wild bunch of silver hair. And on this wild bunch of silver hair was a duster, perfectly balanced. I looked around. Sakura and Naruto were standing looking guilty while Sasuke looked half bored and half irritated.

"So let me guess," he said, removing the duster and placing it on a desk. He took several steps towards us. "You guys must be Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Mariko, am I right?"

Slowly we nodded. He seemed satisfied. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. Your sensei."

Naruto immediately opened his mouth. "Who d'you-"

"Follow me," he said and promptly walked out of the door. Naruto was stunned into silence. We all looked at each other. I dog-eared the page and walked out the door with the rest of my new team, following my sensei.

.

Kakashi POV

I yawned and stuffed my book in my pocket. On my way to the classroom, I glanced at the clock on the wall. Well, would you look at that? I was actually half an hour earlier than I intended to be. I made my to Iruka's classroom. I was sure that by now Asuma, Kurenai and the others had made off with their students. Mine would be the only ones left.

I reached the door of the classroom. By the sounds of it, the Third Shinobi War was taking place inside all over again.

"Baka Naruto! You should know better than that!"

Crash. Thump. Scream.

"Sakura-chan is so cruel…" Whimper. Groan.

"Well, if you weren't so stupid…" Yell. Shout. Crash.

I pitied Naruto. He was obviously the type to get beaten up over nothing. Almost all of the women of Konoha were likely to beat him up too. I learned that first-hand after watching Kushina-san beat sensei up. Not to mention Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama.

I hesitated. The yelling continued. I finally slid the door open and felt something land on my head.

"…"

The noise immediately stopped. The pink-haired girl (Sakura, I assumed) and the blond (obviously Minato-sensei's son) were standing looking very awkward and guilty. No doubt that this was their idea. The Uchiha, Sasuke I believe, who had been looking at the floor with a barely visible blush on his cheeks looked up and frowned. The trade mark Uchiha frown. And Mariko was sitting on Sasuke's table reading a book on medical ninjutsu. She didn't seem to notice that her butt was eye-level with Sasuke. Well, that explained the un-Uchiha-ish blush.

So, Mariko took after her mother when it came to her strengths. Medical ninjutsu and taijutsu, judging from her previous feat but she looked more like Jiraiya-sama. Just like Naruto who looked exactly like sensei but his attitude was most definitely from Kushina-san. Looked like their fathers, acted like their mothers. Sakura is from a merchant family so I don't know much about her and Sasuke Uchiha was very…well…Uchiha. The infamous Uchiha frown was in place, after all.

Mariko still hadn't noticed me. I cleared my throat. No response. I cleared it again. Nothing. So much for attention span. I would have to work on that with her; ninja should be able to multi-task. Assuming that they passed the test, of course.

I let out a hacking cough. She finally looked up, startled. She set her eyes on me, assessing me. Her eyes landed on whatever was on top of my hair. She immediately averted her eyes onto the rest of her team, looking for the culprit. Her eyes landed on Naruto. She frowned. She was the responsible one here. Interesting.

I dropped the thing on my hair. "So let me guess," I said. "You guys must be Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Mariko, am I right?"

They nodded slowly. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. Your sensei."

Naruto seemed to remember something. He opened his mouth. "Who d'you-"

I turned on my heel. "Follow me," I said. They followed. I could hear their shuffling footsteps behind me.

I led them to the roof. This was where my own team had first assembled. Of course, Minato-sensei was never this late.

I settled on top of the railing and pulled out my book and surveyed them. Naruto was glaring; Sakura was biting her lip, apprehensive. Sasuke looked like he couldn't care less about my existence while Mariko looked slightly confused. I decided to start the conversation.

"I apologize for being late. You see, there was this old lady doing her shopping and I couldn't just let her carry all those by herself…"

"And that took you 3 hours?" Mariko quirked an eyebrow.

I sweat-dropped. Okay, so not my best excuse and not the greatest timing. Should have used the 'path of life' one…

"You see, she had more shopping bags then I had thought…"

She didn't look like she bought it. Naruto's glare grew more potent. Then he burst.

"LIAR!"

"Naruto, don't talk to your sensei like that. He's much older and wiser than you!" Sakura said eager to stick up for me. Then she looked at Sasuke. He didn't spare her a glance.

Naruto grumbled. I continued, "Okay, first things first. I want you guys to introduce yourselves. Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, skills, hobbies and future dream. I'll start."

I already had my assessment on each of them. Sasuke was the typical Uchiha and Sakura was his typical fan girl and sensei butt-kisser. Naruto was brash and hot-headed and Mariko seemed a bit conscious. Not at all like her parents.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and I hate… I don't feel like telling you that. My skills… I'm a jonnin. My hobbies… I have lots of hobbies. As for my future dream… I never really thought about it. Who's next?" I said, ignoring their looks. "How about you, Sasuke?"

"Hn… My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't particularly like anything and I hate a lot of things. I'm best at everything and my hobby is training. My future dream is to restore my clan and to destroy a certain someone." Itachi Uchiha.

"Alright, I'm next! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like instant ramen and the ramen in Ichiraku Ramen shop and Mariko's homemade ramen and Iruka-sensei's homemade ramen and Miso ramen and-"

"We get it. You like a lot of ramen," I intervened. Ah, ramen. Minato-sensei's one true weakness. Other than Kushina-san of course. "Is there anything else?"

Naruto seemed to consider something, then announced. "I like Iruka-sensei and Mariko too!" Mariko's eye twitched. Obviously, she didn't appreciate being put so low in his like list. After acres and acres of ramen. Naruto continued undeterred.

"I hate the three minutes you have to wait for the instant ramen to cool down and Sasuke-teme! My hobby is painting the Hokage Mountain and I'm an awesome ninja! My dream is to be the greatest Hokage ever! Believe it!" He touched his forehead protector.

I raised my eyebrow and then smiled inwardly. Like father, like son.

Loud, obnoxious and sure of himself. Awesome ninja… That didn't exactly clarify things for me. Neither did Sasuke's best at everything. "Sakura, you next."

"My name is Sakura Haruno. Things I like…" Glance. Blush. Giggle. "What I hate most is Ino-pig and Naruto!" Glare. Clenched fist. Clenched teeth. Whimper (from Naruto) "My hobby is…" Glance. Deeper Blush. Giggle. "My future dream is…" Long glance. Blush. Hysterical laughter. And yet more blushes. Oh Kami, this must be punishment for my crimes against Obito.

"As for my skills," she continued. "I'm good at chakra control and I know all the basics of jutsu but I'm not good at the practical exams." She looked uncomfortably at Mariko.

Rivalry in the making. They would never survive if they were in Gai's team. Thank Kami she didn't say that her skill was monitoring Sasuke. Well, at least she was truthful about it. I turned to look at Mariko.

"My name is Mariko…Just Mariko." She shifted, obviously uncomfortable. I nodded, encouraging her. "I like many things, gossiping for example and coffee and sleeping in-"

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto intervened solemnly, startling Mariko. I looked at him.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"For future circumstances, if Mariko is ever late it's because she overslept and we have to go fetch her; remember to bring 5 cups of coffee with you alright?" he said. "Mariko will need it. She has an addiction." He said it all seriously. Like he was discussing a life or death situation. Mariko was blushing.

"…I see. Rest assured Naruto, that won't be necessary. Mariko, you were saying…"

"And the things I hate are… Well, they used to be fan girls but I've made my peace with them. I guess you could say I hate obnoxious bastards…" I watched as she subconsciously rubbed her neck.

"My hobbies are usually hanging out with Naruto and the others. I read books too, when I have the time…" she paused again. "Well, Sasuke lied about one thing when it comes to skills. He isn't the best at everything. I'm the best at taijutsu as well as teamwork. Sasuke basically failed teamwork. And I've never really thought of a dream. I take life as it comes but I suppose I wanna help Naruto for now."

I inwardly let out a sigh of relief. At least one of them had some decent skills in teamwork. They would need it for tomorrow. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke glare at Mariko who stuck out her tongue at him.

"Alright Team, now that you've got to know each other, I will be telling you your first assessment as gennin. Tomorrow you're all going to have a test. This test will determine whether or not you get to stay in my team. Be at the training ground tomorrow at 6:00."

"Wait, we already took a gennin exam! Why do we have to take another one?" Naruto said. His eyes went squinty.

"Because becoming gennin isn't that easy," I replied. "Of all the gennin who graduated, I can guarantee half will be sent back to the Academy. To be a ninja, only the best of the best are accepted. Also individual senseis have individual standards."

"So we're taking another test?" Sakura questioned. I nodded.

"Any instructions?" Mariko asked.

"Just the one," I replied cheerfully. Mariko raised her eyebrow. "Don't have any food."

I left them, leaving behind a cloud of smoke. I could hear more arguing from the rooftop. I shook my head and focused on my book. They were going to need all the luck in the world for tomorrow.

.

Mariko POV

I ran through the streets, yelling out apologies behind me. I overslept again. When I woke up I found a card beside my mauled up alarm clock. 'Sorry, I tried. Naruto.' Well, I suppose I can't blame him. It's not his fault I'm incurable. Kakashi-sensei had told us to get to the training field at 6:00. It was now 8:00.

I ran through the gates, jumped off the trunk of a tree for leverage to land in front of Sakura. She looked up at me as I dusted myself off and squinted at me.

"You look like a wreck," she said. She moved some of her books away from the spot beside her. Did that mean she wanted me to sit beside her?

"Good morning to you too, Pinky" I replied and sat down. She didn't oppose.

"Stop calling me that," she frowned at me. I grinned.

"Would you prefer Forehead?" I asked her cheekily. Now she glared.

"Would you prefer Mariko-baa-chan?" Sakura replied. I blinked twice then smiled.

"Oh, I see. 'Cause my hair's white. Nice One," I grinned. "Much better than 'Ugly'"

She smiled feebly at me. Something seemed to be bothering her. I glanced around. Naruto and Sasuke were having some sort of a glaring match farther down the field. Kakashi-sensei wasn't any where in sight.

"Kakashi-sensei's not here yet?" I asked. Sakura shook her head.

"Umm Mariko?" she asked. I looked at her, waiting. "You always hang around the boys, right? So you must know a lot about what boys like, don't you?" she asked, glancing at Sasuke. I followed her gaze. So, that was it. Well, she seemed like your ordinary 'marry-me-now' fan girl but she seemed like she wanted to get to know the guy, not just worship his looks. But Sasuke's pretty damn unsociable.

"Well, yeah I do," I said. "But if it's romantic advice you're looking for-"

I was cut off by the arrival of a certain cloud of smoke which revealed a certain sensei who was once again holding a book, completely disregarding the amount of killing intent that flowed into the air.

"Yo, guys," Kakashi-sensei raised his arm cheerfully.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto yelled. Kakashi-sensei's arm immediately went to rest on the back of his head.

"You see, I was on my way here when I got lost on the path of life while I-"

"LIAR!"

"Umm, anyway," Kakashi-sensei hurriedly continued. I smiled. I liked Kakashi-sensei. "Now that we're all here, I'd like to explain the test to you."

He picked up two bells from his flak jacket. "Your task is to get these two bells by lunch time. Those who get the bells will win themselves the right to stay as gennin. The other two will be sent back to the Academy. Furthermore those two will not get any lunch."

That one hit home as we all realized that we (stupidly) hadn't had any breakfast. Though I did pack a bunch of apples in my bag. First to react was obviously Naruto. He grinned like a maniac. "I'm definitely gonna win one of those bells-ttebayo!"

Before any of us could react, Naruto threw four of his kunai towards Kakashi-sensei. The jonnin was more than prepared. He dodged them with relative ease and threw four of his own towards Naruto. I lurched forward and grabbed Naruto by his collar and yanked him out of the way. The kunai hit the ground. I breathed heavily.

"Quite impatient, aren't you Naruto?" a voice behind me said. I turned around to see Kakashi-sensei holding a kunai against Naruto's neck. I saw Naruto's eyes widen in fear. I'm sure mine weren't any different. How the crap did he get there so fast?

"I didn't say start yet, did I?" he asked. "Alright, then…Start!" With that he went off in a puff of smoke, leaving behind Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and myself. I picked myself up.

"Tch…dobe," Sasuke muttered. "Can't you do anything right?"

"How the hell was that my fault?" Naruto screeched. "I threw, he dodged! It could-"

"Naruto!" Sakura frowned at him. "Don't talk to Sasuke-kun like that! Of course it's your fault your attack failed…" Here she launched into an explanation of the physics of why attacks fail or succeed. Naruto muttered something along the lines of 'teme' and 'Sakura-chan's so cruel'… If she knew that much, why didn't she attack Kakashi-sensei herself?

"Well," I said, cutting off Sakura's rant. "What do we do?"

"'We' don't do anything," Sasuke replied flatly. "I'll find Kakashi. You'll stay out of my way if you know what's good for you." Bastard.

He turned around and walked off. Sakura hesitated, and then followed him. Naruto and I were left alone. I turned to Naruto who looked confused. "How many Shadow Clones can you make at once?" I asked.

"I dunno. Loads I guess," he replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Good. I want you to make clones and search the area for Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei." I told him. I watched as Naruto performed the seal and about a dozen Naruto ran off in different directions. The real Naruto and I started walking.

"I found them!" Naruto yelled suddenly, nearly shattering my eardrums.

"How d'you know? You're not even with them," I asked.

"I dunno. I just do!" he replied intelligently (not) and grabbed my hand and ran. Pretty soon, we got to the sight of where Sasuke was attempting (and failing) to take down Kakashi-sensei. Sakura was watching from the sidelines. Typically, Naruto and his clones joined.

I sat down, opened my backpack and took out an apple from inside. I had come prepared. I started munching on it and watching Naruto and Sasuke get their butts kicked. But one thing was certain, Sasuke was a good ninja. I watched as he released a huge fireball. Kakashi-sensei seemed surprised too but he took care of it easily enough.

After nearly half an hour of watching them run around Kakashi-sensei like headless chickens, sensei apparently decided that he had enough. He poof-ed himself off, leaving Sasuke and Naruto buried neck-deep in the ground, and Sakura looking very distraught. I decided to make my move. I walked up to them grabbing another apple and tossing it to Sakura.

"Here, Pinky. You need to keep your strength up," I told her then kneeled beside Sasuke.

"You ready to listen to me now?" I asked. He glared. I smirked.

.

Sakura POV

I caught the apple she threw at me. I glared at her. She didn't seem to notice. Why didn't she notice me? She kneeled beside Sasuke-kun and asked him.

"You ready to listen to me now?" she said smiling. Sasuke-kun glared at her but she just smiled larger. I had to glare at her too. Sasuke-kun was doing it!

"Alright then," she said. "Stay here. Naruto, Sakura and I'll figure out a way to get the bells and you can just stay here sitting on your ass." She picked up another apple from her bag. Did she have a garden there? She held in front of my Sasuke-kun's face.

"Apple?" she asked. How dare she tease my Sasuke-kun! She was obviously showing off her food when she knew Sasuke-kun hadn't had any all day! I was just planning on how to defend Sasuke-kun when Sasuke-kun said:

"Fine, what do you want?" He was still glaring. His voice was so sexy! I could listen to it all day and never get tired. And his eyes…

"Attaboy Sasuke," she grinned. Now she was referring to him as an inferior being!

"Mariko-chan…" Naruto-baka whimpered but Mariko made shushing noises. Then she plunged her hand down through the earth and grabbed something. She then pulled Sasuke-kun whole up from the earth and set him on his feet by his collar. She proceeded to do the same for Naruto.

How did she do that? How could she support a healthy, grown, (muscular) boy with just one arm? It was impossible! But she did it with relative ease. It wasn't fair.

Sasuke-kun scowled and I watched as his dark eyebrows pulled inward, sharpening the contrast between them and Sasuke-kun's fair skin-

"Eyes on the prize, Pinky," _her_ annoying voice rang out. Sasuke-kun _was_ the prize! I turned to glare at her but she (again) didn't notice me. Instead she sat down on the ground and motioned for us to do the same. Sasuke-kun sat down so I did too.

"Here," she opened her bag and held it out towards us. Naruto-baka immediately grabbed an apple from inside and (gluttonous thing that he is) started munching on it, yelling something out through a mouthful of food. Sasuke-kun took one as well. So did I.

"Okay, basically what I wanna say is that I have a plan on how we're gonna beat Kakashi-sensei but we need to work together for it to work," Mariko said.

"Why should I listen to you?" Sasuke-kun growled.

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun and I can do it all by ourselves! Then we can go on a date, right Sasuke-kun?" I asked him hopefully.

"No. There will be no you, just me," Sasuke-kun said. I sighed. Another failed attempt…

"There is no way in hell I'm gonna work with this teme anyway-ttebayo!" Naruto-baka yelled.

"Sure, sure," Mariko said, rolling her eyes. "Didn't you have your eyes open? Coz last time I checked, you all just got your asses handed to you by Kakashi-sensei."

There was a silence before Sasuke-kun finally said some thing: "Fine…"

Mariko looked at Naruto-baka who replied almost immediately. "Fine, but I'm getting the best part right Mariko-chan?"

Mariko didn't answer and looked at me. I knew my answer already. Of course!

"If Sasuke-kun's doing it then so am I!"

"So what exactly does this plan involve?" Sasuke-kun asked impatiently. She was making Sasuke-kun wait.

"It's simple, really. We drive him into an ambush," she started. "Sakura's not the close-range type so it's best to keep her at a distance. So Sakura starts off by simply letting loose all the kunai she can get her hands on to Kakashi-sensei. Naruto and I are close-range so we can occupy Kakashi-sensei. It should be easier with Naruto's Shadow Clone Jutsu. That should give Sasuke enough time to sneak up on him and grab the bells. He's the best at stealth after all," she finished, looking at us.

"But there are still only two bells," Sasuke-kun said, frowning. "Who gets them?"

"Does it matter?" she asked. "If we don't work together, there won't be any bells. We can just play rock-paper-scissors over them later."

Was she crazy? But Sasuke-kun nodded anyway and so did Naruto-baka. How did she come up with a plan like that? I was supposed to be the brains of this group. I was the smartest. She was just supposed to be the wall of meat that did all the heavy lifting.

But here she was, laying out the plans and I was…sitting there. How will Sasuke-kun ever love me?

**You know what they say: Jealousy kills the cat.**

_Its curiosity kills the cat, inner._

**Whatever…You know it's true.**

.

Sasuke POV

Could the white-haired dobe-buddy's hair-brained plan actually work? It seemed to be working. Kakashi was keeping on his toes, dodging the weapons, the army of dobes and Mariko's deadly fists. That Sakura finally grew some brains it seemed. Instead of aimlessly throwing one kunai after the next, she provided them in time with Naruto and Mariko.

But despite it all, Kakashi seemed to be at ease and was fending them off easily while they were getting tired. I could probably do better than them at this rate. But I was running out of chakra. Naruto's leg shot out, Kakashi dodged. Mariko ran up to him with her fist in the air but he caught it. Another Naruto jumped up, fist at the ready…

Now's my chance! I dashed from my hiding place and ran up to Kakashi, taking care to be stealthy. Just as my hand was about to grab the bells, Kakashi's hand grabbed mine. He flipped me over and sent me flying and I landed on my butt. Hard.

"I was wondering when you would show up," he said. Then, quick as a flash, he released a bunch of kunai and all the Naruto except one (the original) blew up in a puff of smoke.

"Come out, Sakura," he called. "I know for a fact you've run out of kunai. The Academy only gives the gennin 70 kunai in their pouches. You've used 133. I'm guessing you took Mariko's pack as well."

He eyed the empty space on Mariko's thigh. I growled. Nothing escaped his notice. He waited until Sakura reached us then motioned for us to stand in a line. I hesitated. Why should I do what he said? But then I got up anyway. It was sundown and I didn't have a bell. I would be sent back to the Academy. This really put a dent in my plans…

"Well, first off," Kakashi started. "I would like to congratulate you. You all passed."

"But we didn't get any of the bells," the dobe burst out. True, we didn't. So then why?

"You all passed the minute you agreed to cooperate with Mariko's plan," Kakashi said. I assumed he was smiling behind that mask. He sounded amused. I was hell pissed. I didn't have to go through all this trouble anyway!

"Wait a minute! You heard our plan?" The dobe once more yelled.

"Yep. You might want to work on your voice levels. They are way too loud. Besides, the whole test was to see your teamwork," the cheerful bastard said. Kami, I hate him.

"Well, then. Konoha's Team 7 will start missions from tomorrow! 6:00 am! Sharp!" And so saying, the bastard disappeared.

"Okay then. We'll see you guys tomorrow," White-Hair said. Was Mariko her name?

The dobe nodded beside her cheerfully and yelled something-something dattebayo…

Was I the only one that was pissed off?

.

Naruto POV

Alright! Step One: Become Gennin is complete! I'll have step 2 down in no time! And now for some ramen! Dattebayo!

.

**A/N:** Like it? Hate it? Leave a review!


	5. White Clouds Red Clouds

**A/N:** Enjoy! Sorry for the delay but life's been hectic and I broke my arm thanks to my good-for-nothing brother.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto owns ME!

.

**Mariko POV**

_Something bright, green and dangling in front of my face…It was small…I reached out and tried to grab it but it moved away…and I heard a laugh, tinkling but sad-_

I jerked awake. Crap! I was supposed to be on watch! I frantically looked around. Everything seemed in order. Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were sleeping almost soundlessly in their sleeping bags while Tazuna-san was snoring like a rhinoceros a few feet away. It was a miracle that rogue ninja hadn't found us already.

I leaned back and rubbed the sore spot on my head; sleeping against a tree wasn't comfortable. I was feeling kinda guilty-ish. After all, I was on guard duty, if someone had come while I was asleep…

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I got up and stretched. And then…I heard something. Someone shouting… "Damn it!"

I frowned and then trudged forward towards the noise. Not the smartest move ever but lack of sleep left my brain a bit fuzzy. I did take care to be careful and move as quietly as I could. The sound of a guy cussing his mouth off grew louder and I smiled wryly. But then it suddenly stopped.

It wasn't natural. I knew something was wrong. And then I heard it, the faint whistle of sailing projectiles! Upon instinct I dodged, jumping up and cart wheeling backwards out of the way. It wasn't good enough. One of the shuriken had managed to create a cut above my ankle. It was shallow but if it was poisoned…Damn…

I heard a rustling sound and looked up. Whoever attacked me was coming out from beyond a clump of bushes. He came out and stood in front of me a few meters away and I raised my hands: universal sign of 'don't shoot'. He was large and burly. He wore a pair of dark sunglasses and he had a number of swords strapped to his back. And…he was a Kumo-nin. Shit.

I could feel my own hitai-ate showing off the Konoha symbol proudly. Konohagakure and Kumogakure didn't exactly get along. And this guy was definitely jounin level. If he decided to exact revenge for some long dead relative, I was screwed. I winced.

He went ahead and picked up a sword that was lying with the shurikens and sheathed it behind him. Then he turned to look at me, speculating. "Oh," he said. There was a pause and then- "Oh!" he said a bit more forcefully as though he just realized something. I raised an eyebrow in question.

"You're a genin," he said. I nodded. "And you're a Konoha-nin," he said. I nodded again.

"With looks like that, I thought you were a Kumo-nin," he clarified breezily. My being an enemy ninja didn't seem to bother him in the slightest so I decided that conversing couldn't hurt. I shrugged.

"For all I know, I could be," I said. "I'm an orphan so it's perfectly possible…"

"Oh," he said again. Interesting. He didn't regard me with sympathy or pity or even unease. He was simply looking at me, thinking about something. I decided to break the silence.

"So are those poisoned?" I asked motioning towards the fallen weapons.

"Poisoned?" he looked startled. "Nah! I could never work that damn stuff out so I never use it. You know some of it kills, some hurts and some just puts you to sleep. Nah, I'm better the good ole' fashion way."

I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. He smiled back, amused at me. Poisons _were_ the 'old fashion way'. They'd been used for centuries but I didn't feel like telling him that. Instead I sat back down and (ignoring his eyes) pulled out a bandage from my back and carefully covered the cut. I looked up to see him still staring. And his stomach grumbled.

I laughed. Kumo-nin huffed. "You hungry?" I asked him, still chortling.

He nodded. "Yea," he said. "I ran out of chow a while back."

"Why didn't you hunt for something then?" I asked.

"There isn't much food in this forest," he said snappishly. I grinned. "Besides, I only just found out…"

"Hence the cursing that brought me here," I finished for him. Kumo-nin nodded again. I started to rummage in my bag, again.

"So where is your team, anyway?" Kumo-nin asked. "Itty-bitty genin like you can't be alone." I jerked my head in a general direction to the right. I wasn't stupid enough to tell a complete stranger where my team was, even if he was nice. I found what I was looking for and pulled out a granola bar.

He looked at skeptically. I laughed again. First I thought he poisoned me and now he thought I was going to poison him. I broke the bar in half and offered him one half.

"Here," I said. "I'll eat half and you eat half. That way we'll both be poisoned."

He hesitantly took the half. I smiled at him and sat down under a tree and after a minute he joined me. He already finished his half by the time I took a bite out of mine and was looking at me. I knew that expression well; I saw it every day on Naruto's face.

I wordlessly handed him another bar from my bag and this time he decisively took it and wolfed it down. I guess he figured I was trustworthy after all. I wasn't exactly hungry but I ate my half anyway. It would be good to have some food in my system.

I looked up to see him with his fist out. I was confused. The only thing I could associate with this movement was a punch or a fist-bump. Kiba's crazy both. But it seemed weird that Kumo-nin would want to do it.

"Bump fists with me," he stated as though this fact was obvious. I frowned, and then shrugged. I lightly bumped his fist with mine. He seemed satisfied.

"Okay, now you gotta rap!" he said.

"I gotta what?"

"You gotta rap.

If you want my respect-

You gotta rap to perfect!"

Rap to perfect? That didn't even make any sense! But then again, do raps ever?

"But I don't wanna rap!" I whined.

"Rap! Now!"

"Okay, okay, fine! Sheesh!" I said peeved off. "Let's see…" I wracked my brain disinterestedly. I continued in a bored voice.

"Yo, I'm Mariko,

Don't you ever forget it…

Imma send you to hell and back again,

And then you're gonna regret it."

That was the stupidest senseless shit that ever came out of my mouth. I didn't even try. I didn't want to either. Rapping is and forever will be: stupid.

But Kumo-nin seemed impressed. In fact, he said, "That's not bad! Hold on a sec, I gotta write that down!"

My jaw dropped open. Was he serious?_That_ jumbled shit was good? He took out a notepad and wrote something down quickly. Oh Kami, he was serious.

"Anyway," he said and broke me out of my stunned reverie. "I'm Killah Bee…sama," he added.

"So then, Killer Bee-sama," I said. "I'm Mariko. Don't have much besides that. But you can call me gaki if you like. Loads o' people do."

"Alright then, gaki. It's been fun but you an' I both gotta go. Your teammates just caught you missing and it wouldn't do for me to tally. I'll see you around"

I glanced around to the direction where I'd left my team. By the time I looked back, he was already on his feet and moving away. I got up too. I wanted to ask him how he knew that my teammates were awake, he started talking.

"By the way, if any Kumo-nins come 'round lookin' for me, I was never here, you never saw me and you've got no idea 'bout who Killer Bee is," he said then leapt up to a tree.

"Wait-What?" I asked but he was gone. I walked slowly back to our campsite. Did I just aid a missing-nin or something? I could be declared a criminal in Kumogakure. But then again, did it matter much? He seemed like a nice guy and hadn't killed me on sight like many would do. So did I really care?

Nah…

"Mariko!"

My head snapped up and I looked into the extremely pissed off eyes of one Sakura Haruno. Sasuke was leaning against a tree in a Sasuke manner. Tazuna-san was sitting looking disgruntled. Kakashi-sensei was with his book while Naruto was beside Sakura: right in my face.

"Where've you been?"

"We were worried-"

"We're late becau-"

"You did something-"

"Umm…" I didn't even who said what, let alone answer. Thank Kami for Kakashi-sensei, he saved my ass.

"Guys, I'm sure Mariko had a good reason for running off like she did," Kakashi-sensei stopped them and motioned for me to launch into my explanation.

"Umm…well…I thought I heard I something so I…"

"Went to investigate," Kakashi-sensei finished for me. "See? I knew there was a good reason."

"And? Did you find something?" Sakura asked. I opened my mouth but closed it again.

"Nothing," I lied.

"Mariko! You had us worried for nothing! And we're late! Besides, even if there was something," she scoffed as though she doubted this, "you should wake us up too!"

I ignored Sakura's reprimand and helped clean up the camp in order for us to leave. All the while I could feel Kakashi-sensei's eyes (or single eye anyway) looking at me. I felt like he knew exactly where I was and what I was doing.

.

The Land of Wave's a pretty dreary place. All around there places were boarded up. Half the buildings made my apartment look the freakin' palace of the daimyo. Shit, I felt bad for the people living here. Their lives must be real bad.

From what I knew Tazuna-san was trying to build a bridge to connect the Land of Waves to major trading posts and it was our job to help him and protect him and stuff. But I really don't get why a bridge builder would need protection or why there were so less crew helping him.

We reached the Land of Waves today but Kakashi-sensei didn't let us rest. Instead we were headed off to the bridge right now. Sakura and Sasuke was ahead of us, Kakashi-sensei was behind me and Naruto.

"Most of them will at lunch right about now," Tazuna-san said. "There's only one place for food here. Most of us can't afford to buy all the ingredients so eat out. It's pretty cheap too. There it is-" He pointed to a broken down shack. I was the only one who glanced at it.

I stopped short.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked me.

"Nothing," I shook my head. "It's just there are a lot of foreign ninja here, right?"

"Yep," Tazuna-san answered. "Most of 'em rogues and missing-nin. We don't have ninja of our own."

I considered that for a moment. That would make Wave a pretty difficult place to live in right? With so many rogue ninja with no moral code.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto called out again."What is with you people? We've gotta make it in time-ttebayo!"

I looked around to see Kakashi-sensei frozen on the spot. I don't think he even heard Naruto. I saw his eye widening in horror. Disturbed, both me and Naruto followed his gaze while Sasuke and Sakura back-tracked towards us. I saw that he was looking at the same shinobi I was.

The ones who wore the black cloaks with the red cloud design.

.

**A/N:** Please review!


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